Anyone can lose weight if they are committed to doing so, but it's made so much easier if you are aware of effective strategies on losing weight safely and for the long-term. There are many ways to lose weight, but it's important to do so in a way that is easy for you to stick with. Here are some canny tips that we are sure will be invaluable to you.

Drinking water is essential to losing weight and becoming healthy, but it's hard to drink enough each day. Carry a water bottle, either disposable or refillable, with you every where you go and you can take a sip of water whenever you feel thirsty or feel the first pangs of hunger.

You can consume less calories, and lose more weight, if you take the time to cut up your food. Portion control is difficult for most people, so take a food that contains a large amount of calories (like chocolate) and cut it into smaller portions. You can still eat what you like, but by only consuming a small amount of the food, you will not gain as much weight.

If you're having trouble losing weight, try using some fitness DVDs to give you a structured weight loss routine. Jillian Michaels has some great, proven DVDs that with a little work each day, can have you achieving your dream body in only a few weeks. If you can't afford a fitness DVD try following some fitness videos on YouTube.

Make sure you are getting some exercise while you are on your diet plan. Exercise in any form is great for helping you to lose those excess pounds. You don't have to have a gym membership to workout either. You can run, do sit ups and push ups and that will help you in your weight loss efforts. Walking is also another great way to help you lose weight. Try and stay active, get your body in motion to lose the weight.

Work out for weight loss by not working out. A lot of people freeze and give up when they realize that for true sustained weight loss you need to start exercising. Trick your brain into going along with your exercise by not calling it that. Stay away from the gym and get your "work out" in by washing your car, riding a bike, going on a hike, or any of a million other activities that are exercise without being "exercise".

Stay away from foods that you have trouble stopping at one serving. If you cannot stop eating chips then you should not buy a bag and try to eat one serving. Most likely you will give into temptation. Buy something else that is crunchy but is lower in fat and calories.

Dining out presents a challenge for people trying to lose weight. Even with more healthy options available, restaurant portion sizes are still far too large. One incredibly simple way to control what you're eating is to order your dinner, and ask the server to box half of it up when they bring it to the table. You'll be eating half as much food right off the bat, and can bring home the rest for another meal.

Red pepper flakes are wonderful to use when trying to lose weight. If you eat them early on in the day, it will actually help you to lower the amount of food you eat. You can put some on eggs for breakfast, or use them anyway you would like to.

If you are a potato chip lover like so many of us are, these can really hurt your diet. Try baking some apples instead. The baked apples will give you that crunch that a potato chip will, but offer you the nutrition of eating an apple. Finding healthy alternatives to your favorite foods will boost your weight loss.

There is some very useful advice there, and some of it may even be new to you. What's important however, is to give it time. None of these tips will give you quick results, nor should you want them to. Putting the weight on took a long time, and losing it over a long period is a safer, and more realistic way to go about it. When you don't see results it can be difficult to keep going on the weight loss journey, but if you have committed yourself to accomplishing your weight loss goal, you are unstoppable.